4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sustainability
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19,2009
kansans discuss economics of alternative energy
Lack of infrastructure a hurdle in realizing new goals
BY BETH BEAVERS bbeavers@kansan.com
More than 150 people from across the state met at the Dole Institute of Politics to discuss how wind energy, biofuels and 'smart grid technology fit into Kansas' economic future. The experts advocated these alternative energy solutions, but Kansas — and the nation — lacks the infrastructure necessary to implement them.
Tim Cowden, senior vice president of the Kansas City Area Development Council, presents at the second annual KU Energy Council conference at the Dole Institute of Politics on Wednesday. The event featured speakers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as local organizations such as Westar Energy and Sunflower Electric Power Corporation.
Jeremy Viscomi, program officer for the KU Energy Council, said the event, the second annual University Energy Council, provided the opportunity for federal and state organizations that specialize in energy research to share information.
"We want to grow energy research on campus, commercialize it, and get it to people around the state," Visciomi said.
Viscori said the different organizations, which included the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Westar Energy, Inc., the Kansas City Area Development Council, and Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, were asked to focus on three key areas: personal perspective on energy landscape, emerging technologies in energy research, and how those emerging
Rvan Waqqoner/KANSAN
technologies will affect Kansas.
Kyle Nelson, senior vice president for Sunflower Electric, discussed energy alternatives and problems associated with them. Nelson said that for these new technologies to work a massive energy infrastructure must be put into place. He said that a new infrastructure could take up to 20 years to build, and cost $15 billion to $20 billion.
Nelson said the problem with solar technologies is that once the energy is generated, it is consumed instantly and there is no significant storage system. Nelson said that Sunflower Electric was a not-for-profit cooperative, so it is owned by the customers that utilize its services. Because of this business model, Sunflower Electric cannot risk significant capital on unproven technology.
"It is a tough problem that will takedecades to solve." Nelson said.
Kimberly Hernandez, Hutchinson senior, said she was active with several student environments groups on campus including KU Environs and Chevron Energy Solutions. She said that while she had been involved with many environmentally themed projects as a student, she attended the event because she wanted to learn more about what was happening at a professional level.
"There are a lot of questions about how to implement the technologies." Hernandez said. "It's an interesting conversation to have, because how do you define sustainability? There is no secure definition. It's great to have the conversation and define what it means in terms of the University."
Marvin Duncan, senior agricultural economic with the USDA, spoke about biomass and biofuel. Viscomi said biomass — plant matter that can be turned into fuel — and biofuel were important because Kansas is an agriculture-based state. Corn, wheat and grass are some of the kinds of biomass available in Kansas.
Jim Ludwig, executive vice president for Westar Energy Inc., spoke about a $19 million grant Westar received to use new smartgrid technology for Lawrence. The United States Department of Energy said on its Web site that the current grid is limited in what and how much it can do.
Tim Cowden, senior vice president for the Kansas City Area Development Council, said that the council's function was to bring jobs to the area. Cowden said that the Kansas City area was full of alternative technologies, including wind energy and biofuels.
"We want to use talent from our universities in our area," Cowden said.
Scott Allegrucci, director of The Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy, or GPACE, said the inclusion of Sunflower Electric posed a problem because Sunflower had no research or relationship with the
"Why don't you invite those that will own and use energy in the state?" Allegrucci said. "I suggested they add someone who can talk
University. He said he would have liked to see more speakers discussing use of natural gas instead of coal, which Sunflower uses, and see more research representatives.
about Kansas renewables and natural gas, which is a Kansas resource that is cleaner than coal."
Allegrucci said he had participants willing to speak at the event, but the agenda was set and there was no room for more speakers.
CRIME
— Edited by Sarah Kelly
15-year-old indicted on charges of killing 9-year old girl
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Blessed with a Friday off school, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante dug two holes in the ground to be used as a grave, authorities said. For the next week, she attended classes, all the while plotting the right time for a murder, they said.
Prosecutors said that time arrived the evening of Oct. 21, when Bustamante strangled 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten without provocation, cut the girl's throat and stabbed her. Why?
she confessed to investigators and led them to the fourth grader's well-concealed body in a wooded area near their neighborhood in St. Martins, a small town west of Jefferson City.
"Ultimately, she stated she wanted to know what it felt like," Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice testified Wednesday during a court hearing over the slaying.
15-year-old had led them to it and was in custody for the slaving.
A Cole County judge ruled Wednesday that Bustamante, who has been held in Missouri's juvenile justice system, should be tried as an adult. Hours later, the teen was indicted on adult charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for allegedly using a knife to kill Elizabeth. A judge later entered a not guilty plea on Bustamante's behalf and referred her to the public defender's office.
Rice, who interviewed Bustamante in the days after Elizabeth's disappearance, said
Bustamante remained largely expressionless as she sat with her hands shackled around her waist in court Wednesday. She occasionally looked down beneath the brown bangs that covered her eyes and swallowed hard as a judge read the charges against her.
On one side of the courtroom sat her mother and grandmother, who has been Bustamante's legal guardian for about half of her life.
The court proceedings marked the first time that the suspect in Elizabeth's death had been publicly identified since a two-day search for the girl by hundreds of volunteers. When they found Elizabeth's body Oct. 23, authorities only said that a
On the other side sat Elizabeth's mother, relatives and friends, several of whom wore pink — Elizabeth's favorite color.
Bustamante was ordered held without bond pending her trial. If convicted of first-degree murder, she would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Witnesses at Bustamante's adult certification hearing described a girl who was bright yet depressed
and clever in a sometimes sneaky sort of way. She ranked in roughly the top third of her class at jefferson City High School, the principal said, and had been in no trouble at school or with the law.
Yet Bustamante had tried to commit suicide at age 13 and had been receiving mental health treatment for depression and cutting herself, said David Cook, the chief juvenile officer in Cole County.
Once, she led her family to believe she was attending a local church event when she instead sneaked off to a concert in St. Louis, about two hours away, Cook said. On one or two other occasions, Bustamante spent the night in the woods without permission, he said.
**Ajudge entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of the 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante. She confessed to investigators she murdered a 9-year-old girl.**
After her arrest, Bustamante tried to cut herself with her own fingernails while being held in juvenile custody, said her appointed juvenile defense attorney Kurt Valentine.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
He argued Bustamante should remain in the juvenile system, where she could potentially be
rehabilitated before being set free by age 21.
P o t " v F v g 2 e a i n P i e S p V b c p t l a v A S a t o t b p V - - - - - -